Cleated anchor plate



lSept. 22, 1970 E. BERNIER ET AL 3,529,370

CLEATED ANCHOR PLATE Filed Nov. 8, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lavada/025Jazzyjfer/zzrf Jamil? lzz L. E. BERNIER ETAL 3,529,370 CLEATED ANCHORPLATE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Sept. z2, 1970 Filed NOV. 8, 1968 United StatesPatent O Int. Cl. A43b 13/26 U.S. Cl. 36-59 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE An' anchor plate for incorporation into the bottom of a golfshoe, said plate being comprised of a material adapted to be conformedto the contour of the bottom of the lasted upper and having fixed to onesurface thereof a plurality of cleats.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In application Ser. No. 734,154, :filed lune3, 1968, there is disclosed an anchor plate to one side of which areaffixed cleats, for incorporation into the bottom of a shoe by injectionmolding. The object of this invention is to provide improvements in theaforesaid anchor plate which enable obtaining better attachment of theanchor plate to the bottom of the lasted upper and better conformity tothe contour of the bottom.

SUMMARY As herein illustrated, therel are anchor plates for the forepartand heel ends, each one of which has attached to one side metal cleats.The plates are comprised of a material which, at normal-temperature, isshape-retaining; at an elevated temperature becomes conformable withoutloss of continuity, so that it can bev conformed easily to thetransverse and longitudinal contour of the bottom of the, lasted shoe inspite of irregularities therein; and which will revert to itsshape-retaining `condition when no longer subject Vto an elevatedtemperature. The anchor plates correspond substantially in configurationto .the vportion of the shoe bottom in which they are to be incorporatedbut are of smaller area. The surface of the anchor plate for theforepart, facing lthe bottom of the ylasted upper, extending from oneside around the tip to the other side, contains a groove which providesa clearance between the anchor plate and the bottom of the lasted upper.The butt end of the forepart anchor plate is -beveled from the topsurface downwardly and forwardly. The anchor plate for thev heel endcontains no such groove.

The invention will -now be described in greater detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings wherein:

VFIG. 1 is a plan view of the top side of an anchor plate forincorporation into the forepart of the shoe bottom;

FIG. 2 is an edge View of the anchor plate shown in FIG. 1 taken on theline-2 2 of FIG. l;

FIG.. 3 is a plan view of an anchor platevfor incorporation in the heelend of the shoe bottom;

FIG. 4 is an edge view of the anchor plate shown in .trating theconformity of the forepart plate with the bottom surface of the lastedupper.

Referring to the drawings (FIGS. l, 2 and 3),`the

improved anchorpla'te for the forepart of the bottom 'ice' comprises arelatively thin plate 10 corresponding in configuration to the forepartof the bottom in which it is to be incorporated but smaller in area, toone surface of which are secured a plurality of cleats 12, as disclosedin the application referred to above, the anchor plate 10 has at oneside integral bosses 14 in which the heads of the cleats 12 are secured.

In accordance with this invention, the anchor plate 10 and theintegrally formed bosses 14 are comprised of a material which, at normaltemperatures, is shape-retaining` resists to a substantial degreebending, distortion and displacement so as to hold the cleats in rigidrelation to each other in the finished bottom. The material, however, ischosen so that it is adapted to be made conformable at higher thanambient temperatures,` for example, by the application of heat, in whichcondition it can be conformed intimately to the longitudinal andtransverse contour of the lasted upper and to any irregularities in thebottom of the lasted upper without loss of continuity or displacement ofthe cleats relative to each other, and that it will revert to its stablecondition when restored to normal temperature. The application of theheat necessary to make the plate conformable, as will be explainedhereinafter, can be applied prior to placing the plate in the mold orcan be applied by heat supplied through the last, especially if theupper is string-lasted to the last, or by heat from the hotbottom-forming composition as it is injected into the mold. Any materialernbodying the foregoing characteristics of shape-retention at normal orambient temperatures which may be rendered conformable at hightemperatures and will return to its stable condition at normaltemperatures without loss of continuity is suitable for the purpose. Onesuch material is a rubber known as S-B-R- nitrile phenolic blend.Polyvinyl chloride may also be used and it is within the scope of theinvention that materials may be used that are adapted to be renderedconformable by means other than heat, for example, fluids or chemicals,the application of which would render the material temporarilyconformable or pliable.

The anchor plate for the forepart, as illustrated in FIG. 6, issupported with its upper surface 10a in direct contact with the bottomside of the lasted upper which may comprise an insole 18 to, which thelasting margin 20 of the upper is fastened, or if the upper isstring-lasted against the lasting margin and the naked bottom of thelast. In any event to obtain a good bond between the anchor plate andthe lasting margin at the bottom, the marginal edge of the anchor plate,as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, along the inner and outer sides 22 and 24and around the tip 26a has in the upper surface 10a a groove 28. Theanchor plate is approximately inch in thickness and the groove isapproximately 1,56 inch in depth and 1A inch in width. The butt end 26hof the anchor plate is provided with a bevel 30 which slopes from theupper surface 10a downwardly and forwardly as shown in FIG. 2. The lowersurface 10b of the anchor plate, as previously indicated, has formedintegral therewith the bosses 14 and these are approximately ls of aninch thick and have an outside diameter of approximately 2% of an inch.Optionally, the plate may have holes through it to provide for betteranchoring between the plate and the bottom 'which is to be applied.

Each cleat 12 (FIG. 5) has a circular head 32, a shaft or body 32a ofthree diameters stemming therefrom, and a tip 34. The shaft 32acomprises a cylindrical portion 36 of one diameter, a cylindricalportion 38 of smaller diameter and a tapering portion 40. Thecylindrical portion 36 is adapted to be embedded in the material of theanchor plate and specifically in the boss 14; the cylindrical portion 38is adapted to be embedded in the substance of which the sole is formed;and the tapering por- 3 tion `40 is adapted to project from the treadsurface of the sole when it is completed. At the junction of thecylindrical portion 36 and the cylindrical portion 38 there is a beveledshoulder 42 and at the junction of the cylindrical portion 38 with theconical portion 40 there is a beveled shoulder 44. The beveled shoulder42 allows the material of which the plate is comprised to flow inwardlyfrom the diameter of the cylindrical portion 36 to the diameter of thecylindrical portion 38 thus to provide a seal about the cleats, and theshoulder 44 provides for a smooth transition from the tread surface ofthe sole to the conical portion 40 extending therefrom.

By way of illustration, only, and without limitation the cleatsincorporated in the anchor plate, as described above, have the followingspecifications: a head diameter of 5A; of an inch; a shaft diameter at36 of 7/16 of an inch; and a shaft diameter at 38 of .260 inch.

The shaft of the cleat contains an axial opening 32b at the smaller endwhich extends toward the head throughout substantially the entire lengthof the tapered portion in which the tip 34 is forced and fixed, forexample, by brazing or compression. The tip is comprised of tungsten.

To prevent rotation of the head 32 in the anchor plate the upper surfacethereof contains a plurality of holes or depressions 46. Optionally, theheads may be made noncircular, for example, polygonal.

As related above in the above-identified application, the cleats areattached to the anchor plate by an injection molding process in whichthe lower portions of the cleats comprising the conical and cylindricalportions 40 and 38 are supported in openings in the bottom of the moldcavity suitably closed at the top, and the material of which the anchorplate is to be made is injected into the cavity about the heads 32, thecylindrical portions 36 of the shafts and the beveled shoulders 42 whichextend upwardly from the bottom into the cavity. It is within the scopeof the invention to form the anchor plate by a pressure molding processinstead of injection molding, by the simple expedient of placing amoldable material, for example unvulcanized rubber, in the mold cavityabove the heads of the cleats and then applying pressure and heat toform it about the heads and cylindrical portions adjacent thereto. Theanchor plate is provided with the groove 28 and the bevel 30 either inthe mold during the molding process or after it is removed from the moldby routing the edge and beveling the butt end. The anchor plate with thecleats 12 attached thereto is incorporated in the bottom, that is, thesole of a shoe by an injection molding process, using a mold assembly,such as shown in FIG. `6, comprising a side ring 48, at the top of whichthere is a lip 50 adapted to provide a seat for the lasted upper and asole plate 52 at the bottom of the ring movable therein relative to thebottom of the lasted upper supported on the lip. The sole plate containsopenings 54 for receiving the lower conical ends of the cleats, as shownin FIG. 6, to support the anchor plates with the cleats attached theretoabove the upper surface of the sole plate in a position for engagementof the upper surface 10a of the anchor plate with the lower side of thelasted upper.

In accordance with this invention, the anchor plate is -first roughedwith a wire brush or washed to take olf the releasing compound and thencoated with an adhesive compatible with rubber or polyvinyl chloride.After thus treating the anchor plate and before placing it in the moldcavity it is subjected to further treatment, for example to heat, tomake it conformable whereupon it is placed in the mold cavity and byraising the sole plate is forced against the bottom side of the lastedupper so that it assumes the contour of the bottom of the lasted upper.A bottom-forming composition of rubber, polyvinyl chloride or equivalentbottom-forming composition is now injected into the mold cavity throughan opening 56 in the sole plate which, as shown, is located at the shankportion so as to lill the cavity about the anchor plate -10 at theforepart. The groove 28 at the tip and along the sides of the forepartanchor plate provides a space between it and the bottom of the lastedupper so that the bottom-forming composition which ows into the cavitybeneath the anchor plate ilows upwardly about its edges and inwardlyinto the groove. The beveled edge 30 at the butt end of the platedirects the bottom-forming composition iiowing from the passage 56downwardly beneath the plate rather than between it and the bottom ofthe lasted upper, thus preventing any tendency for depressing the buttend of the anchor plate and by displacing it interfering with the properflow of bottom-forming composition into the mold and also improperpositioning of the anchor plate in the finished sole.

The conformity of the anchor plate to the contour of a transverselycurved bottom is shown in FIG. 7, wherein the completed bottom or sole60 is shown in section with the anchor plate embedded therein so thatonly the shoulders 44 and the conical portions 40 of the cleats extendfrom the tread surface, It is to be observed that while the anchor plateis caused to conform to the contour of the bottom, the cleats are heldin ixed relation to each other during its conformation to the bottom sothat in the finished shoe the tips of the cleats lie in a common planewhich is substantially flat; hence affording a high degree of stabilityand balance for the golfer.

A heel end anchor plate 10x is also employed in conjunction with theforepart anchor plate, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, but which may notrequire the provision of a groove or bevel as is required for theforepart anchor plate since it is held at against a filler 58 at theheel end of the lasted upper which is smaller than the heel end anchorplate 10x so that the bottom-forming composition can flow over theexposed upper surface surrounding the filler thus firmly connecting itto the bottom of the lasted upper. Generally, it is not necessary torender the heel plate conformable since the filler provides a at bottomsurface against which the heel end anchor plate can be firmly heldwithout any danger of the bottom-forming composition entering betweenits upper surface and the lower surface of the filler.

The anchor plates and the manner of incorporating them in the shoebottom, as described above, provides a high degree of stability andbalance, and in addition provides for long wear without need forreplacement, minimum breakage or pulling out of the cleats fro-m thesole, or deflection or displacement relative to each other,

. and affords no opportunity for entrance of water and/or dirt into andthrough the sole and from thence to the interior of the shoe.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An article of manufacture for incorporation in the bottom of a shoe,comprising a iiat nonmetallic plate having tip and butt ends adapted tocorrespond in configuration to but smaller in area than the forepart ofa shoe bottom in which it is to be incorporated, said plate havingsubstantially hat top and bottom surfaces, said top surface beingadapted to have engagement with the bottom of a lasted upper, a grooveformed in the top surface marginally of the plate, said groove havingangularly disposed surfaces one of which is situated intermediate thetop and bottom surfaces thereof substantially parallel to the topsurface, so as to provide a space between the bottom of the lasted upperand said one surface when the top surface is in engagement with thebottom of the lasted upper into which bottom forming composition canflow during the bottom forming operation, and a plurality of rigid metalcleats each embodying a relatively large diameter flat head which isthinner than the plate and a shank of smaller diameter extendingperpendicular therefrom which terminates in a tapering tip,

5 said cleats being incorporated in the plate with their heads buriedbetween the top and bottom surfaces.

2. An article of manufacture according to claim 1, wherein said grooveextends from the tip along the sides t0 the butt end.

3. An anchor plate according to claim 1, wherein the butt end of theplate is beveled downwardly and forwardly with respect to the topsurface.

4. An article of manufacture according to claim 1, lwherein said plateis comprised of polyvinyl chloride material which is shape-retaining atambient temperature but 1Which is adapted to be rendered conformable ata higher temperature to the bottom of the lasted upper without loss ofits continuity.

5. An anchor plate according to claim 1, wherein said plate is in theorder of 1A; of an inch in thickness.

6. An anchor plate according to claim 1, wherein said plate is intheorder of 1A inch in thickness and the groove is in the order of yf; ofan inch in depth and 1A of an inch in width.

7. An anchor plate according to claim 1, wherein said plate is in theorder of 1A; of an inch in thickness. bottom surface and is in the orderof 1A; of an inch in thickness and the bosses are of the order of ls ofan inch in thickness and of an inch in diameter.

8. An anchor plate according to claim 1, containing a plurality of smallholes formed through said plate.

9. An anchor plate according to claim 1, comprised of rubber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,290,792 7/ 1942 Abbott.2,745,197 5/ 1956 Holt. 2,918,733 12/ 1959 Anderson. 3,204,347 9/1965Snow. 3,328,901 7 1967 Strickland.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner 20 G. H. KRIZMANICH, AssistantExaminer

